Arsenal face their toughest Premier League test of the season as they travel to Manchester City tomorrow lunchtime.
Three points for Arsene Wenger’s men will see them open up an eight point lead at the top of the table, with second place Liverpool facing Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday afternoon, and third place Chelsea hosting Crystal Palace later on Saturday.
The Gunners will assess the fitness of Bacary Sagna ahead of the game which comes to soon for Lukas Podolski, who has recovered from a hamstring injury but is short of match fitness.
Abou Diaby, Yaya Sanogo, Ryo Miyaichi and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain all remain side-lined with their respective injuries.
Meanwhile, Fiorentina have joined Arsenal and a host of other Premier League clubs in the race to sign Ukraine international Yevhen Konoplyanka, TalkSport understands.
The midfielder has been in fine form for Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk this season, scoring nine goals in twenty-three appearances across all competitions.
TalkSport have also reported that Antoine Greizmann has insisted that he will be not by moving to a Premier League club in January.
The winger had been linked with both Arsenal and Manchester United, but looks likely to remain at Real Sociedad, where he has struck eleven goals so far this season.